MEGHAN Markle shares attributes with controversial party-girl Princess Margaret, according to royal commentators.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are getting ready to welcome their first baby together this spring, after their royal wedding in May 2018. The two are settling down to a contented life together and have been busy with joint royal engagements, notably in Australia and New Zealand last autumn. Meanwhile, the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret often made controversial choices and was well-known for her partying lifestyle, as has been dramatised in Netflix series “The Crown”.

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Australian podcast “New Idea: Royals” hears from journalists Rebecca Hyde and Angela Mollard, who delve into the Queen’s relationship with her sister, “one of the most controversial royals of all time”.

The two royal commentators claim that, despite their differences, Meghan Markle and Princess Margaret do share some traits in common.

They say: “In some ways Princess Margaret was like the Duchess of Sussex.

“They both straddle the celebrity and monarchy [worlds].

Meghan MArkle has been compared to Princess Margaret (Image: Getty)

“We know that Margaret had great friendships with people like Dusty Springfield and Peter Sellers, and through her husband she was very enmeshed in the celebrity world and the great and the good.”

Margaret was married to the photographer and film-maker Lord Snowdon.

The hosts continue: “Interestingly, Harry’s been brought into that world through Meghan.”

The Duchess of Sussex made her career in Hollywood, notably with her role in TV drama Suits.

Meghan has intrdocued Harry to the celebrity world, say the royal podcasters (Image: Getty)

They talk about the Duchess’ friendship with Amal Clooney, who reportedly helped Meghan settle down into London life.

The presenters also note that Meghan is a divorcee, and that Margaret fell in love with the divorced Peter Townsend.

Margaret’s relationship caused a crisis in 1953 when she had to choose between her love and her royal title.

Ms Mollard says: “The only thing I’d say is that it didn’t end well for Margaret, and I hope it does end well for Meghan.”

Like Meghan, Princess Margaret was known for her sense of style (Image: Getty)

The hosts also describe how Meghan is well-known for her “clean-living” lifestyle.

She gets up at 5am to start her royal schedule, a habit that has reportedly caused some tension with Palace staff.

In contrast, Princess Margaret famously enjoyed smoking and drinking, and her daily schedule normally included getting up at 11am, before emerging for lunch after a long soak in the bath.

However the podcast hosts say that Margaret was also “a fabulous raconteur, very socially able, connected people […] she was a party girl but she also had talents”.

Princess Margaret died after suffering ill-health in 2002, a difficult year for the Queen that also saw the death of her mother.